MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Many are preparing in Manatee County for Hurricane Milton, including those on Anna Maria Island who are still trying to recover from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene.

The labor and heavy lifting aren’t what bother Joe Lalonde. Instead, it’s all the unknowns and anticipation surrounding Hurricane Milton.

Joe Lalonde is a Holmes Beach business owner and resident and spent the day preparing for Milton.

“I’m still worried about the flooding. It seems like a lot of people are worried about the wind,” he said.

He’s doing everything he can to protect two businesses he just opened last year: Frosty Oasis and his skate shop, AMI Skate, which lost almost everything inside — worth thousands of dollars — because of Hurricane Helene.

“We lost so much in terms of equipment, inventory. And now tourism, probably for the foreseeable future, six, nine, 12 months,” he said.

Now, the inside of the ice cream shop looks bare — they’ve already started rebuilding.

“There was sand and mud everywhere. As soon as you opened the door, it was all over. There was a refrigerator here, turned upside down. There was a dead fish right in the middle of the floor,” he said.

But the family isn’t sure if they’ll be able to continue operating the businesses after this upcoming storm.

“It’s disheartening,” Lalonde added.

During Helene, Joe and his family evacuated the island.

“When we came back and were able to walk around a little more, you could see the water lines on the wall. I think this one was probably right around here,” he said, pointing to a spot. “But at the time, we had never dealt with flooding before.”

Since he rents, Joe and his family decided to move.

“We’ve been apartment shopping the past few days, looking at a couple of apartment complexes every morning,” he said.

They’ve also been taking stock of the items they still have left.

“We pretty much lost all of our furniture. We were able to keep our mattresses and our dishes. And probably 80% of our clothes made it,” he said.

This time around, the family plans to evacuate again and stay with a friend.

For those who might need transportation to get to emergency shelters, Holmes Beach Police Department reports that CAT buses are running routes Tuesday.